The localism bill proposes a "general power of competence", widening the powers of councils to support the communities they serve. The aims are laudable, yet this poses major questions for the management of public risk. Responsibility for managing risk will be shared more openly: there will be new roles for central and local government, stricter governance requirements for firms and charities, and new responsibilities for us all as citizens.

Risk assessments have become commonplace: vulnerable adults, young offenders, and the apparent trivialities of hanging baskets and conkers all spring to mind. The occasional nonsense of bureaucratic risk assessment performed in isolation of the wider context may have tarnished the issue in the public mind.

So moving forward requires a new mindset, one informed by a broader view of how the systems we manage operate as a whole and in concert, acknowledging the flaws that all systems harbour in their structure. At its heart, sound risk management relies on individuals assuming accountability for action.

Governing risk well requires a mature approach. The pace of change required is pressing given the rapid devolution of accountability and the scale of reorganisation that local authorities will need to undergo to manage budget reductions. These changes should rightly force us to re-examine whether what we have done in the past will work well in the future.

Mature risk governance should offer us the chance to foster a culture of responsible, measured risk-taking to tackle the challenges we face.

How might we respond? We are regularly reminded that incidents, when they occur, invariably result from a mixture of technical, organisational and human faults. An examination of what makes for a responsible risk culture seems an essential prerequisite, so responsibility can be apportioned without excessive burden or unnecessary legal formality.

Capacity clearly exists for building risk-literate communities, but more effective collaboration between organisations and citizens is required to diffuse risks where responsibility is so dispersed.

Some of the success factors for this, such as reciprocity and trust, are well known. Making these changes now means addressing behaviours and norms in organisations, government and within communities.